Ruthless Sabalenka and Gauff storm into AO third round

MELBOURNE — Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff, two of the top three women's seeds at the Australian Open, both reached the third round on Wednesday.

The top-seeded man, Carlos Alcaraz, joined them.

Top-seeded Sabalenka defeated Bai Zhouxuan of China 6-3, 6-1 at Rod Laver Arena, and No 3 Gauff defeated left-hander Olga Danilovic 6-2, 6-2 in the Margaret Court Arena.

Alcaraz defeated Germany's Yannick Hanfmann in a tough match for the Spaniard, who eventually prevailed 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-2.

"I knew he (Hanfmann) was going to play great," Alcaraz said. "I knew his level. We have played a few times already. But to be honest, it was tougher than I thought."

"The ball was coming as a bomb — forehand, backhand, so I had to be ready for that," Alcaraz added of Hanfmann's shotmaking.

Alcaraz, 22, is trying to win his first title at Melbourne Park to become the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam.

Sabalenka won the Australian Open in 2023 and 2024 and was the runner-up a year ago against Madison Keys. She is after her fifth Grand Slam title and has two trophies at the US Open.

Gauff has never advanced past the semifinals in Australia and has Grand Slam titles from the French Open and US Open.

Sabalenka raced to a 5-0 lead in the first set but then needed seven set points at Rod Laver Arena to take the set against the defensive-minded Chinese player, who used clever drop shots to help her stay in the match.

Sabalenka will next face Anastasia Potapova, who defeated 28th seed and former US Open champion Emma Raducanu 7-6 (3), 6-2.

"I was happy to get this win against a tricky opponent," Sabalenka said. "She really stepped up in the first set."

Sabalenka led 4-0 in the second set and overpowered the smaller Bai. Sabalenka even tried a bit of serve-and-volley in the match, trying to diversify her game.

"You saw serve-and-volley today,"Sabalenka said. "It didn't really work well, but I did it."

Bai was making her second appearance in the Australian Open and reached the second round for the first time.

"Super happy to close the (first) set, it gives me confidence that my game is there, my focus is there," said Sabalenka, who is bidding for a third Australian Open title in four years.

"Step by step. Super happy with my win. There is always room to improve."

Fresh from a mental health break at the end of last year, Elina Svitolina is through to the third round and feeling rejuvenated.

The 12th-seeded Svitolina, who lost in the quarterfinals here last year to eventual champion Keys, beat Linda Klimovicova 7-5, 6-1 on Wednesday and will next face No 23 Diana Shnaider.

Her second win of the tournament was in the morning after her husband Gael Monfils, a popular 39-year-old Frenchman, said his goodbye at Melbourne Park in his retirement year. She was courtside Tuesday when Monfils lost his first-round match to qualifier Dane Sweeny, ending his 20th Australian Open campaign.

In another women's match, Zeynep Sonmez of Turkiye, who was highly praised during her first-round match Sunday for assisting an ill ball kid, advanced to the third round after beating Anna Bondar 6-2, 6-4.

Sonmez played at one of Melbourne Park's outside courts and the stands were crammed with members of Melbourne's Turkish community.

"I really appreciated there were many Turkish people, and I felt like I was at home," she said. "At first I couldn't even hear my own thoughts. It was very, very loud."

Daniil Medvedev survived an early scare against Frenchman Quentin Halys in the second round on Wednesday but dug deep to record a 6-7 (9), 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory.

A three-time finalist at Melbourne Park, Medvedev battled for over an hour in the first set, only to lose after an intense tiebreak.

The Russian was also broken early in the second set by the world No 83 but regained his composure to level the match.

The 11th seed controlled the baseline exchanges in the third set to convert an early break point and followed it up with an aggressive service game.

Medvedev then exploited Halys' weak returns with fierce groundstrokes to secure the win and advance to the third round.

"I feel I was playing much better in Brisbane," said Medvedev, who won the Brisbane International tune-up event. "I still can't get exactly used to the court here. I feel I am missing a bit of power in my shots.

"But if you continue winning in a tournament, you find it step by step.

"For the first time in a couple of years I am in the third round of a Grand Slam, so feeling good."

Agencies